CARTERTON.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1247, 23 January 1896, Page 19

CARTERTON.

Volume I. of the New Zealand Sheep Breeders 1 Stock Book, is just published and does credit to tho Christchurch Press Company, at whose office it was turned out. A copy was laid on tho table at a meeting of the Wairarapa Pastoral Society on Saturday last by Mr E. W. Dorset. A discussion took place as to whether rams from flocks entered in the Flock Book should have precedence of any others at the ram sales, and was declared in the affirmative. The secretary stated all the Wairarapa breeders who were entitled to had entered their flocks in the New Zealand Flock Book and it would be the stud-book of tho future.

Bush fires have already started on the low hills at the foot of the Tararua ranges, where several settlers have recently taken up land at 12s fid an acre and upwards. Mr Daysh and others have over 100 acres nearly ready for burning. Mr W. Booth has 220 acres down on his run, and will start his fires this week'. Mr K. Hooker has 40 acres adjoining, and another settler 60 acres, so that we may expect to bo nearly smoked out in Carterton for the next few days. The Christmas and New Year trade, I find, was not considered equal to past years in the volume of business done. Nor was money spent freely, purchasers looking out rather for useful lines than seasonable presents, and many shopkeepers who stocked largely, expecting a large trade, find they have more fancy articles left on hand than they bargained for. Although the price of wool has gone up it lias not as yet made itself felt in the spending power of the people, and, added to that, we have the late shearing season. The shearer’s cheque is a big item in the Christmas returns, and its absence this year is noticeable. Still, the feeling seems to hold that we shall have a good steady trade right | through tho winter. At the preseut time money is very scarce,* and since the holidays trade has been practically at a standstill. It always is slack during January, but this year it is phenomenally so. The crops everywhere are looking well, and most of the oats are cut. The earliest wheat harvested that I have seen is a nice paddock of Mr W. Fisher’s, Taratuhi, which was till recently a white pine swamp, and ! was stumped, drained and cleared by the present owner. This is the first year* it has been cropped. Whilst the present has been a favourable one for cereals it lias been just the opposite for the orchards, and fruit is scarce. Plums are an entire failure, and the apple trees are smothered in pests of every description, for which the long spell of dry weather is chiefly responsible. The grass is rapidly drying off, and green feed is scarce. There is a sudden falling off in the supply of milk at the factories. The dairy farmers are fortunate in having a good I reserve of hay for autumn and winter feed, j